Event Information

Date and Time

Location

Description

Join us for an afternoon tour of the Paignton Picture House. This Christmas Tour special will take a slightly more leisurely pace than our Saturday morning events. See behind the scenes of this time-capsule historic cinema, where the doors were last open to the public over 15 years ago. Experience the magical atmosphere of this beautiful building as dusk falls.

The Paignton Picture House is one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in Europe. It opened in 1914 and today many architectural features in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco style survive beneath layers of dust.

The Picture House is a longstanding Building at Risk. Its architectural and historic significance recognised by a grade II* designation from Historic England. 100 years after the building opened, a new charitable Trust was established to restore and reopen the building. The Trust successfully secured the purchase of the building at the end of 2015 and are now embarking on their restoration journey.

The tour will access all parts of the building across three floors, including the Projection Room. On the balcony, you will be able to sit in Agatha Christie's favourite seat; the Picture House was her local cinema when she lived at Greenway. The tour will include object handling of original archive material, and the chance to hear stories from when the building was last fully operational.

Did you know that The Paignton Picture House Trust is a Charity?

If you are a UK taxpayer and you make a donation that is 10% more than the admission, the government will give us 25p for every £1 of your entrance fee. It's called a gift aid visit and it makes a massive difference to us and to our project to restore the Picture House. Standard tour tickets are £12.50, Gift Aid tour tickets are £15.00. This event is suitable for those over the age of 18.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where do we meet?

We will meet you by the side entrance to the cinema, opposite the Dartmouth Steam Railway. We will be there to meet you 15 minutes before the tour commences.

Are there ID requirements or an age limit to enter the event?

We will invite you to join us in a complimentary glass of wine for this event and as such we are restricting these evening tours to those over 18.

Is the building fully accessible?

At the moment the only access into the building is directly up a steep flight of stairs to the first floor. There is another steep flight of steps up to the second floor. There will be opportunities to sit down during the tour. We are working to open up level access to the ground floor for future events. If this is of interest please email us at info@paigntonpicturehouse.org.

Please note that the Trust has installed temporary lighting throughout the building. At times under the supervision of your guide, some of the lights will be turned off temporarily during Friday Lates to enable you to experience the atmosphere of the building and imagine it when the "lights went down".

What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?

There is no parking at the venue. There is on-street pay and display parking on Torbay Road and the surrounding streets and a number of car parks located within a shot walking distance of the Picture House.

Where can I contact the organiser with any questions?

Any questions can be sent to the Trust at info@paigntonpicturehouse.org